HC tells govt to spread awareness about Email and SMS scams

The Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra government to take adequate measures for spreading awareness about scams that target people through emails and mobile text messages.

The HC delivered the judgment while hearing a petition filed by Namdev Warde, a citizen from Nashik who lost INR 29 lakh to such a cam.

A division bench led by Justice V M Kanade instructed the home department of Maharashtra government to take seek help from mobile service providers when and where necessary. The bench also emphasized on a more stringent implement of Reserve Bank of India’s ‘Know Your Customer’ policy by all public and private sector banks.

Meanwhile, the petitioner has appealed the HC to transfer his case from Nashik Police to the CBI.

Apparently, Warade received a text message last September that said he had won US$ 500,000 from a multinational company. On responding to the message, Warade was contacted through email and the fraudsters asked him to deposit a hefty sum for the transfer process.

Not only did Warade give into the scam, but he also sold his house and other assets and paid INR 29 lakh to the perpetrators before finally realizing that he had been duped. The police has so far arrested one person in the case but 15 others are still at large.